NREL Named Partner in EPA Climate Leaders Program

June 1, 2002

DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) was recently named a charter member of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Climate Leaders program. NREL is the first Federal partner to join the program. On March 25, 2002, NREL and other Climate Leaders Partners participated in EPA's Climate Leaders Summit, which focused on the latest developments in climate change policy and innovations in greenhouse gas (GHG) management.

Charter members, recognized by EPA's Administrator Christine Todd Whitman at the conference, have committed to completing a corporate-wide GHG inventory and working with EPA to set an emissions reduction target. These companies represent a diverse group of energy-intensive and service-oriented companies.

"The companies that participate in this program—promising to meet a higher standard than other companies in their sector—are showing true leadership as environmental stewards," said Whitman. "They are proving that doing what is good for the environment is also good for business. They are providing an example to everyone that we all must do our share to address the effects of climate change—and we must start now, as they have."

Bob Westby, Director of NREL's Energy and Environmental Applications Office and the Sustainable NREL program, said that NREL places tremendous importance on the need to maintain a sustainable environment in our own workplace. "We believe that our institution should use minimal resources (energy, materials, water, etc.) while receiving the maximum value from those resources used—along with balancing environmental, economic, and human impacts," Westby said. "EPA's Climate Leaders program provides a valuable opportunity for NREL to do its part in addressing the challenge of climate change."

Climate Leaders Partners work with EPA to develop corporate-wide GHG emissions inventories and set long-term GHG reduction goals. After partners complete their inventory, EPA works closely with them to develop a customized emissions reduction target. These targets must be aggressive long-term targets that exceed business-as-usual performance for the Partner's sector.

According to Dan Bilello, NREL's representative to the program, the Laboratory was a natural for the partnership. "We already are doing a lot of the same things in our comprehensive Sustainable NREL program, so this is a good opportunity for us to highlight and expand on what we've already done. NREL hopes to share its experiences in implementing a comprehensive sustainability program with other Federal agencies and universities with similar facility types."